The Vehicle Importers’ Association of Sri Lanka has said that nearly 75% of the imported stock of 7000 cars has already been sold. Speaking to the media, the association’s President Prasad Manage refuted media reports suggesting a decline in imported vehicle sales, and said that vehicle imports had resumed steadily. He noted that demand is high, as buyers had waited five years for imports to reopen.

Mr. Manage attributed the rise in vehicle prices to a stronger Japanese Yen and increased import taxes. On future prices, he said currency fluctuations make any predictions uncertain. Sri Lanka had resumed vehicle imports from February this year after a long period of import ban since 2021 due to the COVID lockdown and thereafter the economic crisis.